Sheep Flock Health Focus of New Investment

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced today an investment of $306,500 to the Centre d'expertise en production ovine du Québec (CEPOQ) to improve the health of sheep flocks.

This investment from AAFC's AgriInnovation Program's R&D stream will enable the Centre to better control gastrointestinal parasitic infections among sheep by detecting drug resistance. This project is expected to help boost productivity and sheep health by also identifying new treatment methods.

CEPOQ made a presentation on its research into drug resistance at a Sheep Value Chain Roundtable convened in Calgary today (November 21).

Quick Facts

CEPOQ is a non-profit organization in La Pocatière, Quebec that was created in 1997 to further research and enable technology transfer within the sheep industry.

This project will develop new genetic tests to detect resistance to two specific drugs: fenbendazole and ivermectin.

The AgriInnovation Program is a five-year, up to $698 million initiative under the Growing Forward 2 policy framework, and is designed to accelerate the pace of innovation by supporting research and development activities in the agriculture sector.

Quotes

"The sheep industry is an important contributor to our economy. Our Government continues to work with our sheep producers by investing in research that centers on industry priorities, which is why we are proud to partner in this endeavor."

- Agriculture Minister, Gerry Ritz

"We are very pleased that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada sees sheep production as a suitable area for investment. This project will address a number of the businesses' technical and economic, animal welfare, responsible drug use and sustainable development concerns. The Quebec centre of expertise in sheep production, the Centre d'expertise en production ovine du Québec (CEPOQ), is proud to support a high profile team of researchers from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Université de Montréal, McGill University and the Quebec department of agriculture, fisheries and food, the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec. On behalf of the research team, I want to thank AAFC for its financial support."